Hat shoppe part 1

Well I did get a picture of the toy kit hen and apothecary chest for the Pickett Hill.

After I finished the chest I realized I had no room for it on the bottom floors. This was the only space it fits.

I started another quarter scale building. I decided to do the hat shoppe by Cynthia Howe. I bought the kit when it was available as an online class but never got around to it. It seemed like a good choice since it is pretty simple all around and should finish quickly. Here it is after the second night of working on it. I am stuck on the exterior colors though. The kit is shown in white and gold but it doesn't do it for me. I want some color. Nothing bright, just something subtle.

Elora's room

The Pickett Hill was so nice to work on again. I absolutely adore quarter scale. I finished dressing the bed in the little girl's room, adding the moulding to the room, I made her dollhouse, 2chairs with table and her wardrobe. The room is titled Emma's room but since this is my house and the E that will be on the wall shelf soon to be completed, I changed the name to Elora's for my daughter.

I also completed the toy kitchen and an apothecary chest for downstairs but I didn't get photos of those yet. I looked at my stash of kits for this house and I am almost done with them. So of course that means I get to plan the next quarter scale kit to do. I have a few stashed away and have two or three other kits I have been looking at, I just need to make a decision. I am leaning towards a 1930/1940 style home and have been seriously considering the Privet Drive kit by petite-properties. I have a few of heir kits already but have never had the courage to try them. Many of them require paper  clay and I am anxious about messing that up. If I go with the Privet Drive I would like to add lights, an interior staircase, and a wall in the middle hall to make a room for a small bathroom with a hint of a hallway behind it. I am also in love with Debbie Young's Charleston dollhouse. It is amazingly detailed and lit but oh so expensive. Maybe I can weasel that one in for my birthday. : )

What next?

Christmas came and went so fast this year. We had a wonderful time. My DH got me a portable DVD player which I love and have already been using at my craft desk. He even surprised me with a really pretty embroidery kit. I was floored when I opened it because he is always going on about not enabling me in my craft obbsessions and how many I have to do still. 

I have gone back to my regular crafting, pain or no pain, I was going crazy. Last night was the first time since my trip to Hawaii that I got to really work on my dollhouse. I finished the trim on the eaves, the balcony porch trim, installed the balcony light and wallpapered the living room. I had a slight panic attack after wallpapering two of the living room walls when I thought I only had the two sheets of paper. A search of my paper drawer revealed the missing sheets. The exterior needs porch steps and shingles and it will be structurally finished.

Today, I think I will drop in scale and work on 1:48 scale items instead. I have many furniture kits for the Pickett Hill, as well as some other 1:48 scale house kits. There is a possiblity of 4-6 weeks where I will be one handed so I am getting my fill of crafts that involve both now.

I finally had an appointment on my wrist, initially the doctor examined me and said ganglion cyst, and scheduled surgery for January 29th, but I asked if he was going to run any tests to verify that before cutting me open, so he said if it made me feel better he would order an ultrasound. I am soooo glad I asked for verification, I don't have a ganglion cyst, or any other cysts or tumor. After a very painful injection of dye into my wrist, which caused me to use words I normally wouldn't say, they found that I have a tear in the center of the triangular fibrocomplex, TFCC tear for short. The doctor who ordered the MRI should get the results Monday, I always ask for a copy of my results and the readings from the radiologist immediately so I knew before my doctor, and we will go from there. From what I have gleamed from the internet and my dad who is a semi-retired PA,surgery will be the fix because of rhe location and it will probably take 4-6 weeks recovery time. Since I am right handed that is going to be a pain in the butt. So untill that time I plan to do as much crafting as possible, pain or no pain. 

Wish granted...

I was lucky enough to have another great weekend like last time. This time the weather was perfect! Cold, rainy and cloudy. I love the rain and am convinced I live in the wrong climate. I am not a desert woman. We got our Christmas tree up and decorated.

It looks great, and the kids had fun hanging ornaments. This is wothout the lights on. We stayed home except last night for dinner. Had Chinese at our favorite Chinese restaurant. 

I did get a little crafting in but because of something going on with my hand now, I was limited to what I could do without it hurting. I finally went to the doctor last week for it. It has slowly been getting worse. I believe it started last Christmas or thereabouts, but it would come and go, now it's steadily getting worse. There seems to be a lump in my wrist which doesn't appear on the X-rays taken but you can see it on the outside. At first they thought ganglion cyst but the mass is hard. The pain moves around my wrist and into my hand and fingers. Sometimes cramping while trying to do something simple like using a pencil or peeling a potato, to the point I can't hold onto to whatever it is. Very annoying. Only lately it is interfering with my crafts such as crocheting, so I decided to get it checked. The X-ray came back normal and he recommends an ultra sound if further examination is needed. I hope they don't just blow it off because it isn't bone. I am also hoping it is something easily fixed with rest or splinting. Unfortunately I am right handed, it's the right hand causing issues and my job revolves around the use of the ten key pad and typing which is practically impossible to do with one hand, let alone my left. Oh well, nothing to worry about now until I know more. It's more of a nuisance I guess. What's a bit of pain, huh? If it's not one thing it's another with me. Poor husband, i don't think he  realized the vows would have such an emphasis on "in sickness" when we got married. Thank God he has stuck it through.

As to what I was able to do, it's cross stitching, everything else is to awkward one handed or impossible left handed so I pulled out a cross stitch sampler I have had stockpiled away, put it on a lap frame and started it this weekend. Not to shabby, if I do say so myself. This is just half of the top border.

Just an awesome weekend

The weekend started early for me. Friday I had my final follow up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon and had to take the day off to go. Everything is the same as last time. He doesn't see any regrowing of the tumor so I no longer need to keep making trips. The pain I have he thinks is due to  subconsciously walking crooked, maybe compensating for something in my foot. Only recommendation for that is to see a specialist for making a shoe insert, but as it isn't something I can't handle I won't be making that appointment unless it's a lot more painful than it is now.

 The trip is close to three hours and my dad went with me. It was absolutely wonderful. I love spending one on one time with him and it rarely happens. Honestly it only happens when I have a doctor's appointment out of town. We stopped at Hobby Lobby where I got the fabric for Elora's quilt and my dad found some nutcrackers for my mom as a surprise. He also bought me a present, Egg Money Quilts 1930's vintage samplers book. Amazing book! I loved it. Not only does it give you a little history with each designs and tidbits about the authors ancestors during the 1930's and includes a handful of recipes, there are premade templates in the back for the patterns throughout. After that we had lunch at Ihop and headed home. It was great being with him and talking.

The kids had an extended sleep over at their grandparents house. They decorated the tree, watched Christmas movies and did a little Christmas crafting. They had a blast! 

I was able to work some on the quilt block at my parents and am almost finished with the second one. When I got home I finished my husband's afgahn, and the  door and surround to Elora's Barbie house. It was a very successful weekend and everyone is off to sleep on a happy note. Here's to hoping for such a great time next weekend.

Quilting mania

I have been reading up on quilting, watching videos and planning. I have so many projects going right now and ones that I need to do that I really shouldn't be looking into starting a new hobby, but there you go. All of these blogs and videos out there are way to inspiring for me to resist. I plan to use my daughter's twin bunk bed as my first attempt. It may not be considered true quilting or not but it's my plan. I have 18" quilt blocks that get embroidered, which i started last year but stopped after one block, and I want to alternate those with regular pieced blocks. I found a block I like on a video. I couldn't find the pattern used, only that they said it was a version of an Ohio Star block. It's super pretty and I think it will be relatively easy to do. I sketched up the pattern to work for an 18" block and am excited to finish all the embroidered blocks so I can start the pieced ones. Following this obssession I started reading a new series called the Elm Creek Quilters. I just finished the first one and I really enjoyed it. Started the second book last night.

As to those projects waiting to be finished here is a list of those:

11 stocking fronts for family to be stitched including the one I am working on now, 3 stockings to be lined and backed

2 spools of cotton yarn to make dishcloths for our house.

1 crocheted bearded beanie for my nephew, 1 hat/scarf for my niece. 2 crochet hats for a lady at work.

4 crochet blankets, (1 has 4inches more to go and the others I need to finish they are barely started.)

My dollhouse and HAED design need some work but as those are long term projects for myself they get put on the back burner.

Elora's quilt, here's a picture of he block I am working on. I have one finished already. 

Finally, a plastic canvas Barbie dream house. I finished the living room a few years ago as well as the foundation. Unfortunately the foundation was crushed in the move so now I have to make a new one. This past weekend I picked  it up again as Elora is now of the age to really love playing with it. I am almost done stitching the pieces to hallway and then I just need to construct it. That just leaves the foundation, kitchen, upper hall, bathroom, bedroom and attic. : / 

Getting my projects finished is my goal and early new year's resolution. No more new projects till at least half of these are done. Problem with these is after I have been crocheting awhile my hand cramps and needs a break so I stitch for awhile then those muscles start hurting so I go to a different type I project. It's a big circle but eventually I finish. It just takes forever. I need to focus though. I'm just unsure which project needs to take priority over another. They are all important to me. Too bad I couldn't spend all day crafting instead of working LOL. Life would be so much more fun that way.

1.5 legs?

Another progress update on the Santa and Frosty stocking. This weekend I finished stitching the snowman's body, scarf and 1.5 of the legs on Santa. This is a very adorable kit and I love working on it. It is going together fairly quickly. I just realized that I took this photo before the legs were started. I live the snowman's face, so sweet.

On a different topic I am considering teaching myself to quilt. Sewing machines intimidate me so I want to try hand piecing and quilting. I have found some wonderful tutorials online and videos to watch so I am drinking in as much knowledge as I can. I mentioned it to my husband and he seemed to like the idea. He even told me if I want to make a quilt set for our bed he would like to request one that matches these lanterns we found at the World Market. The little doors open for tea lights to set inside and they are beautiful when lit. It may be awhile enforce I attempt a queen size quilt with matching shams though. I was thinking of a Christmas wall hanging quilt first. So I will be browsing the magazine section next trip to the store I see if there is one that looks interesting. It's not like I need another hobby but at least this one I can say has a purpose.

Progress

I haven't posted many in progress photos lately. I figured I could easily fix that. So here is where I am on the new stocking as of this afternoon. I started this last Sunday. Not too bad with a full time job, two kids, a husband and the necessity of food and drink. Too bad crafting didn't count as a meal, I'd be all set.  : ) it's hard to tell in this picture but the picture provided the color of the branch embroidery is much more yellow. I am really happy with the true colors.

Another Stocking front finished

This will make the third stocking front this year. I like to make the fronts until I have a couple of them so that I can whip through them when lining and adding the backs. I finished this one on the weekend and started another. I had a stocking planned for my niece but I wasn't happy with it, so I had my husband help me pick a new one for her and I am much happier with this choice. When I am finished with this one I will add the liners and backs to them all. This will be the last one needed for that family, two nieces and a nephew. When I opened this package I thought it was missing he instructions. It wasn't, it was only that this is an older kit and Bucilla has since updated their instruction formats. On the back of the picture was the name of each piece and he corresponding number listed in numerical order of how it needs to be sewn on. On a separate, smaller, paper their was a picture of the stocking with numbers as to where the pieces go. It sounds similar to the instructions now but the list has no written instructions and the diagram is very small. It's workable but I am glad I had so many under my belt before tackling it.

Pictures

My new sewing box. So much bigger. Aidan finished his ornament last night but it was too late for me to get a picture of it. As soon as I do I will post it.

The stocking has the wheel attached now and the beginning of the next two wheels are attached. This one is a tight fit because of the odd shape of the toe.

 

Yearly trip and a new box!

Yesterday I went to Tucson's Annual Miniature Show and Sale. For the past three years it has become a tradition for my mom and me. We make a day of it, just the two of us. She says it is her Christmas gift to me and we spend the whole day shopping and eating. I enjoy it immensely, not for the gifts, but for time we spend together, no distractions. This trip was no exception. We had a lot of fun. The show wasn'tt as great as last, but I still had fun browsing the  tables. After that we swang by Miniature Memories. I love this shop, I always find at least one thing. I found a stereo system that looks almost identical to how I remember my parents' looking. There is even a turntable on top with a cover that lifts up. I am super excited to get going on my house so I can set it up.

Our next trip was to the  mall where I found some shoes for work. I was sadly in need of a new pair. The last crafts stop was to Joanns where my mom bought me the best sewing box! It's huge! It has the nice hard plastic tray on top with many little seperated areas. But the best part is that it can hold stockings as I work on them. I love this box! She gave it to me early since I am working on stockings now.

As a surprise for my kids I brought them back each a little something. Aidan got a mould and paint your own dinosaur magnet kit and for Elora we got her plastic canvas shapes, yarn and some darning needles. I was shocked over their reaction to the plastic canvas. Aidan was more interested with that the the dinosaurs, which shocked me and Elora was all ready to start one.  Elora told me that all she needed now was a sewing box and she'd be just like me. So I hunted and I found my first sewing box that my mom got me and fixed it up for her. Aidan couldn't be left out so I moved my supplies to my new box and fixed up the old one for him. They are tickled pink with their new boxes. Elora doesn't get the concept yet but is having fun putting the needle where ever she wants it on her plastic canvas shape. Aidan on the other hand was doing great! He finished an ornament today and I couldn't be more proud.

Unfortunately I am having problems with blogger tonight and can't get pictures to upload. As soon as I can I will post them.

I'm back, time to catch up.

A lot has happened since my last post. In the middle of September my husband and I took a vacation to Hawaii, just the two of us. While it was a beautiful place to visit and a great experience it is definitely not someplace we'd like I live. The cost of living is too high, and while the tropical plants are interesting I missed the  landscaping I am used to. We agreed we would both rather live where the forests are comprised of different pines. We went on a Sunday and returned the following Saturday. 

Once we got home I ended up sick for two weeks with what began as a cold but turned into a wicked sinus infection. During that time I was too tired and ill to do any crafting. I also was planning my son't 6th birthday party. He had fun and received a lot of the Lord of the Rings Lego sets. He and his dad had a blast putting them together, but even more fun playing with them free they were built.

Once I was finally better I started working again on the afghans I have been crocheting. They normally don't take me long but I have hit snags with each of them. My husbands' ran out of yarn right near the end, my son's didn't have enough to begin with, so I had to place another order for more and I am still waffling on the pattern, and my daughter's is working up fast but I want to finish the other two first since they were started first.

I am also working on the train stocking again. Bucilla will be releasing some new designs in November and I have my eye on two at least. I really enjoy these kits. I think I have decided to do a rotation on the kits. For every one I finish for a family member I will do one for my Etsy shop. I have been stock piling kits I am in love with, so I really hope there are those out there who would love to have one of these stockings but don't have the time or patience to make one themselves. This is where I can come in, through me they can have a handcrafted, personalized stocking for themselves or a gift for a loved one. Not only do I have many of the new releases, I have some discontinued and vintage stockings to make up as well. All are in new condition. I have also gotten a few kits for ornaments, home decor and tree skirts. The skirts will be large projects but so worth it, they are gorgeous designs.

I wish I had a photo to share but as of yet I haven't completed anything since my return. Once I can I'll post some progress pictures and, if I'm lucky, a completed project.

Roof flop

I used card stock and made a mockup of the pointed roof idea and it looked weird. The height of the point compared to the rest of the roofline was just off. So plain flat roof it is. Although I may add a little edge trim of some kind so it's not so blah.

On a side note I am starting to plan a list of things I need to pack for our trip to Hawaii soon. I have been scouring online looking for allowed items for flight projects. I want to bring the embroidery quilt blocks I am making for Elora's bed, hey are stamped embroidery in two colors so there is no graph needed, few supplies and relatively compact to work on. I know you can't take circular thread cutters or scissors above 4in. I have seen that you can take dental floss and use that to cut your threads. I was just worried they'd confiscate any needles. I wanted to bring 2. One for use and one as a spare. Anyone know if that would be prohibited or have a personal story of not being allowed to bring them? My Aunt flew in a couple weeks ago and she said there was a woman knitting on her flight. I can't imagine embroidery needed posing more of a threat than knitting needles but I've seen crazier things.

Lattice continues

Last night I made another section of lattice for the side of the house and have decided not to continue with another for the front. Instead I will just make the brick steps large enough to cover the section I left undone. The lattice was much better spaced this time but all three are different and that bothers me. So I will be working with winter landscapes and accessories to draw the eye away from the differences. I also talked over the tower roof with my husband and we both thought a pointed roof, rather than a flat top would look nicer and be a perfect place for the weathervane I've always wanted to add. I haven't figured out how I will accomplish that yet but I am working on it.

Now off the craft topic, my daughter has what my son is still trying to get over. Right now she is napping but she has a temp of 100.1 an I hate that. She can barely breathe with her nose being both stuffy and runny at the same time. I hope her nap helps in the healing.

The end of a nice weekend

My son is sick with what appears to be a cold and possible start of laryngitis. He sounds terrible but he seems to be feeling fine otherwise. My daughter had the same thing a little over a week ago. I pray he feels better in the morning.

This weekend was great! Friday night I shared a sleep over with my kids at their my parents so I could visit my aunt from out of town. They try to make it possible for her to come visit once a year and I really look forward to it. Saturday we went home and the start of Aidan's cold began. We spent dinner with my parents and then headed home.

Sunday Aidan's cold was getting a little worse. We played Sorry and he watched a movie with his dad and sister while I snuck away to play with my dollhouse, pictures of that work was posted yesterday. Today, Aidan sounds horrible. We played some more Sorry and tried to get him to rest, but telling a five year old to rest because they are sick is like talking to a wall. Makes me nervous when you hear them trying to breathe because they are stuffy. Vapor baths are wonderful but it made his voice even worse. I think it's because it got things moving.

I worked on my dollhouse again off and on throughout the day. This morning I got the roof on but tonight I glued the tower together, minus that roof and I painted the balcony railing on one side and based the other. In this picture the finished railing is drying, thus the wood corner shoved beneath it as a spacer. I am so close to finished on the exterior construction and then I can move to the interior.

Roof started

I decided to do the roof since it's such a large endeavor I'd rather do it on a weekend. I painted and glued it in place and it definitely made a difference. I also have the tower roof in a test fit. I will be shrinking the flat roof and I have vetoed the railing for a weathervane. The railing just seems off to me. I know it is probably accurate but I don't like it. I will be painting and using textured spray painting shingles for this house. That will take a long., long time as they are not speed shingles but individual.

As promised

Here are two views of tonight's progress. I am absolutely thrilled with how this house is looking. This is the best work I have done so far and I am actually happy with it. It is also the most detailed work I have done yet. A lot of credit has to go to the structure itself. It is a dream to work with and that makes me want to try even harder to have a house that I can look at later and say, wow, I did that.

Lots of progress!

It may not appear to be a lot but it is in fact a LOT of little things completed today. I finished bricking the foundation, sealed, "mortared" and sealed again. I painted and installed the porch trim bottom edge and top edge. I cut, glued, stained and installed the balcony floor. I also painted and installed the corner edge trims to the front of the house. At this moment everything is drying with lots and lots of blue painters tape. Once it is all dried I will finish aging the exterior walls and will either begin on installing the roof, or painting the railing to finish the balcony. I haven't decided yet. I also have two more lattice sections to build and install, or one more and one section of two step stairs in the front, (brick and wood). Either way I'll need stair it just depends on their size as to whether or not I need that second lattice section. For the steps I will have to raid my stash of supplies and see if I have anything I can use for them. I will be taking pictures soon and uploading them so you can see too.

Light!...well sort of...

I installed the front porch light the other night. I need to buy a transformer and power strip for this house so right now I'm not positive the light actually works. When I first opened it for the Arthur dollhouse, which is sadly no more, it worked beautifully. Hopefully with the move that hasn't changed. I bought a second one for the second floor balcony but it'll be a while before i'm ready to install that. I also did a side and a half more of Bricks. Just a few more to go and then I can seal and grout.

Brick by brick

I started on the foundation of the house and it is turning out exactly as I had imagined it. Only down side is the kink in my back and shoulders from sitting on the floor working on them, ouch.

Lattice

I started working on the porch foundation tonight. I "bricked" the first two columns of the porch foundation and made two sets of lattice for it. I have one painted and installed. Of course after I glued it I realized the spacing on one side is off. Not happy about that but I think it won't be super noticeable later. I am using the cork board bricks again, for the lattice I used coffee stirrers. I could do better on the lattice I think but I am ok with how these turned out. I will use the same bricks when I build the front steps. I am still trying to come up with an idea for the floor edging, I'll think of something. The lattice and porch supports will be continued on the side of the porch. My favorite view is the middle picture. I am really happy with that floor.

The front porch update

The front porch has railings painted and installed as well as the porch posts, flooring completed, soffit made, stained and installed. I use a general idea from my own RL porch soffit. Light ivory was considered but rejected and I am so glad I did. I still need to install the porch light and trim the floor edge of the porch, I just have decided how yet. I want to add lattice under the porch and bricks around the rest of the foundation. The exterior is coming along. Super excited to keep working on this house.

Veneer flooring

This is an awesome idea! Who ever came up with the idea to use iron on wood veneer edging cut to size as flooring is genius! I have spent today working on he front porch of the Holly Ann and I am so pleased with the results of the first floor. I attempted one last night but I screwed up the design. My corner seam isn't perfectly straight but for a first time I am quite happy with it. Enough so, I glued it in place. I have the soffit made and ready to glue in place once it dries. I am going to begin painting the trim details. This house is coming together quickly. Hardest part is waiting for things to dry .

Two More To Go

I worked on the windows some more and the second door. There is one more large window and one more oval to go. After that I will weather them all at once. I had to try the roof again just to see how it's all coming together and I am very happy with it. I made a list of all the things I want to do to this house. It was a long list and it was only the things I want to do before I can start putting furniture and accessories together for it. I tried to put them in order of what needs to be done first before I can do the next part. I loved snuggling with Elora as she "helped" me paint the windows while Aidan played Lego Lord of the Rings with my husband. Elora gave the biggest smile when I placed the windows in and told her she helped with that. This weekend I will be tackling the mountain of laundry that has snuck up on me again. I swear it's like rabbits, multiplying behind my back. But it should allow me to work some more on the house and my stocking. Not sure if I mentioned this but the Santa's secret stocking is finished and I am working on the next one of the snowman driving the candy train. Too cute. I've been watching The Dick Van Dyke show on Netflix and I love it so much I am saving to buy the series on DVD. Even my husband has been laughing along with me and i find it funny how relatable it is. More han once i have given my DH a pointed look because he's said or done similar things. As to the dvds my husband is still trying to convince me that virtual media is the way to go but I am untrusting of that. It's too easy for that stuff to be corrupted, contracts broken etc etc, in which case I'd be out of my money and with nothing to show for it. Anyhow, here's a picture of today's work.

French door

I kind of left you hanging about he French door addition. The window insert and mullions are not in as I don't want them breaking ore getting paint on them as I work on the trim. Anyways, here's a picture.

Window painting

After my triumph over the turntable base I have been slowly working on this house. After spending so much time working in quarter scale the past year this house is HUGE, but I love it. I have decided to accept the attic as is. I will arrange furniture and what not to maximize the space but I love the way the original roof looks. It tried other styles, like the mansard suggested but it would take a lot of materials that I don't want to splurge for, I'm saving up for lights instead. In the meantime I am painting away. I originally started the windows an trim in a white, but it was too stark, so I switched it to light ivory. I am much happier with that.

Also, while I was in the sawing mood I turned the back lower window into a single french door. My husband made me laugh when he asked what I was doing. When I told him my house was a fire hazard, there was no exit in case of a fire at the front of the house. My little people would be trapped. He gave me a confused look and asked "isn't their two open sides? Couldn't they just leave through the part with no wall." My response was, there are walls, you just can't see them, in which case a door is necessary. : ) Hey, it made perfect sense to me. Here's a picture of the window progress. They aren't glued in place, an won't be till I finish the interior walls but it's nice to see some progress. I forgot to mention I weathered the wall with windows in place. I will do that to all the walls. Seems more realistic to me. I will also weather the windows later too, I just haven't decided how.

A new turntable base

After work today I took a trip to Home Depot. Nothing like the smell of a hardware store to get me excited about a project and instantly in a good mood. The smell of the lumber yard is like an amazing potpourri. I bought myself some super fine sand paper, a can of mini wax honey satin stain for the interior floors and a sheet of plywood. While I work with figures all day and I am used to imaging size in regards to miniatures I fall short when it comes to imaging the size of a 4'x8'sheet of plywood and how it'll fit in the back of my SUV. After six cuts I I finally got all of it to fit. Since the kids are having a sleepy over at their grandparents I thought tonight would be the best night to cut the wood down to the size I wanted for a base. I had the guy at Home Depot cut to an estimated 3x'3'but once I placed it under the house it was way too big.. I want to be able to landscape but I want the house to be the focus. So I used a handsaw and cut it to 29"x29" I am very proud of myself. After I cut and sanded the top relatively smooth and lightly sanded the bottom I attached a metal turntable I had purchases from miniatures.com years ago for just such a project. As I proudly carried it into the house and showed it too my husband he sweetly pointed out my turntable wasn't centered. Grrrr. It's not off by much and doesn't make a difference to how it works it was still a bit frustrating. No one can tell just by looking and if they want to move the 34lb dollhouse and flip a large sheet of plywood over just to see if my turntable is centered than more power to them. Until then I am doing a happy dance over my new base. It will work wonderfully while I build and then once covered it will be perfect.

Finally, some pictures

And here they are...

 Foundation supports.

 Front of the house.

 This is the side that will have the dining table bottom left, kitchen right on the first floor up the stairs to the large hallway and bathroom, up to the third floor where I will have the kids room and possibly the laundry area.

 Another angle of the interior.

And finally the living room bottom, Master Bedroom second floor and the continuation of the kid's room on the third. I am reconciling myself to this attic kid's room slowly. The undressed doll is there for scale of the attic, she's 5.6". I am still working on her. I will be making/replacing all the walls on the second floor with ones that actually fit. I may change the layout once more before I finalize it but I think it looks nice this way. Also, that back corner will have a wall. I am playing with the idea of changing the bottom window of that wall into a door for the backyard. More realistic that way to me. The door I am thinking about is laying on the first floor in the living room. The mullions are sitting next to it. Lot's more work but I am taking my time as I want this one to actually get finished and done right.

Possible Redesign

Ok, I have been thinking about this for awhile now. The attic of the Holly Ann is 6.5 at the highest points. I think I can work the area to it's greatest advantages and turn it into a finished attic for the kids' room. This would leave the Master Bedroom, a curvy hallway and a bathroom on the second level. Might be able to put an antique sewing machine in the hallway, tune that area into a useful cozy space.
My thought to reconcile myself to this arrangement is that maybe they bought the house and were quickly surprised by two little bundles of joy. And since they already put so much into this home, in the nice neighborhood, that instead of the expense of moving they had a team come in to finish the attic space over into bedrooms. I am only 5' tall and my husband is under 6 feet by a few inches so it would be feasible for the husband to still be able to stand up in the room, all though standing near the walls would be unthinkable. I am still going through some ideas of maybe lowering the floor a half inch, or may be extending the pitch of the roof a little at the rear to accommodate wider/higher walls? Any suggestions out there? I still haven't found a picture online of the configuration my house has. No matter which direction I could have flipped those floors it would still be different. I want to finish this house and I want it to have all the rooms I desire, so I must find a solution. In the meantime I will be stitching away and making plans for the layout.

Another finish.

I finished stitching the front of another stocking tonight. It's by Bucilla and called Santa's secret. All that is waiting is the name to be embroidered and the liner/backs to be done. I like to wait and do those when I have more than one to do. It seems to go faster that way. I have already chosen my next one. It is the Candy Express, an adorable snowman driving a train. There is a matching tree skirt tori stocking which I will eventually get to . I do have another one of these stoking kits to make up later and it is not promised to family.

Wall Delimma

First floor of the Holly Ann is glued in place. I have templates of their floors ready for the wood veneer flooring, as well as a porch template. Each room is set for what they will be but now that I am moving to the second floor think I may have a problem. In the house I want a living room, dining room, kitchen, entranceway, on the first floor. On the second a kid's room, master bedroom and a bathroom. My problem is because I was following the instructions implicitly the second floor space doesn't seem to have enough room to accomplish all that. I also don't like the room dividers it comes with, they seem incomplete and they are thick so matching them with replacement walls will be tough cutting without power tools. I figure I will sleep on it and hopefully I will find a solution in my dreams. While searching for images of completed houses I have come across two interior images of other people's attempts and it appears they reversed the first floor stair position somehow. Or maybe the kit was once remodeled? Either way the current configuration moves my staircase to the side and seems to take up more room that way. I'm stuck with that now, I just need to work with it.

First day of school

Man was that tough for me. Aidan's first day of kindergarten was today. I thought I would be stronger and not cry. Now I'm just glad I made it out of the classroom and into the hallway before starting to cry. He seems to have had a great day and I am thrilled with that. It is a part of me mourning the fact that my boy is no longer a toddler or a baby any longer. It's just taking longer to come to grips with that then I was expecting. I requested today off because I was pretty sure I would be mentally drained and useless today. I was right. I wonder if I will ever be the kind of mother who feels relieved for school to start. At this moment that is a definite no.

So tonight after spending time with both kids and getting them to bed I took a little time to work on the dollhouse. I stained the front door and I have started cutting the veneer for the front porch. That's taking quite some time but I am doing it while watching tv so it's not as painful as it might otherwise be. No pictures tonight. I hope to have a progress picture soon.

But will it fit through the door?...

That simple question led to the construction of the foundation of the Holly Ann. I started thinking last night about how horrible it would be if I built this beautiful house and then come to find out it won't fit through the doorway. I only meant to open it to test it, of course the foundation piece was under all the other pieces. That led to sorting the pieces to general areas, exterior walls, tower roof pieces, roof pieces, etc. After that it was just a matter of time before I broke down and started constructing the base and foundation. I finally got some rolls of wood veneer so I'll be able to make my own floors. I had thought about scribing my own flooring but that seems like a LOT I work and I don't think my hand would be steady enough to make all those straight lines. I have some general ideas for the build I just hope I can make it work.

I asked my husband for his advice, I told him that he may not like dollhouses but he'll have to look at it so I want his input on the color. For choices I gave him purple, yellow or the leftover paint from my parents house which is a sandy color. He exclaimed not purple! So I tried the sandy color first. Apparently the sun has toned down my parents home or the paint on top of stucco did because this was pink! Like a dark pink! I couldn't help laughing as I brought the wall to my husband and said I know you said no purples but how do you feel about pink? LOL his face was priceless. So back to the beginning, the yellow was tried but the paint was too runny, and then old parchment by Delta Ceramcoat but It was too bleh. In the end I chose a color I wasn't even considering, Ice Blue by Americana. With the white windows and my plan for a charcoal/black/grey roof it is perfect. I have a few ideas for accents but nothing is set yet. Both of my kids helped with the painting. With Aidan starting school Wednesday these moments I get with him one on one a more precious to me than I can say. Memories are being made with this house which is great because years later when I look at this house I won't be seeing walls, I will be seeing a little girl and a little boy helping their mom and being so proud of what they did.

The yellow shown is what their nursery was painted in. I don't have a picture of the mishap paints but here is one of the final color. The bottom walls are glued in as well as the second floor. It calls for the house to be nailed together as well as glued after each wall is put up. I am gluing and then will go back when it is more sturdy to do the nails and the touching up the holes.

Ornament 2

I painted this little bear soldier over the weekend nights. I've come to realize it is much easier to paint once the kids are asleep. Elora saw what I was starting and said in her sweet way "I want to help, pick me up." Who could resist that!? So up on my lap she went and she helped me base the bear. When we were done, she looked up at me and said "I'm a good helper, what do we do next?" LOL. Too precious. So the bear was finished during nap time and once she was asleep for the night. I want to get those little ceramic paint sets for kids so that she and her brother won't feel left out when I paint. Till then painting will be delegated to late nights.

And for those of you who may read this in hopes I will begin my miniatures again I can tell you I have plans in the works. I promised my husband last night that I would only have one large dollhouse in our house. Until we either move or I build myself a studio. So I am debating between 2 kits by The House That Jack Built, Cheryl's Place or Holly Ann. I'll keep you posted. At the moment I am leaning towards the Holly Ann for two reasons, 1) my parents gave it to me for Christmas and 2) it has more rooms to fill so that 1 house can last awhile. : )

Snowman repair service

Last night I finally had the room finished enough that sitting down for a bit to paint wasn't going to make me feel guilty, like I should be up cleaning instead. So I got my supplies out, turned my kindle on to Supernatural and painted the Snowman Repair Service Ornament, designed by Karen Wisner. I still have the dangly bits to finish and attach. There will be snowballs hanging from one hand and a pail of carrot noses in the other. For being the first tole painting I have done in years it's not too bad. Once completed this will get set aside to be posted on Etsy later. I love this ornament, not surprisingly since it's creator is one of my all time favorite artists.

Sick again : (

I have finally been seen for this. It seems to have been going on for quite awhile but gradually getting worse. I know for sure it was happening 4 months ago. At first I thought I had the flu and got checked, the doctor thought it was gastroenteritis, but now it seems to reoccur every week to every two weeks for at least one day. I am missing work because of it. It's not H Pylori but they gave me some acid reflux meds hoping it will work. I've only been on them for less week. Went in last Thursday because I was having the issue again, they gave me the meds. Heartburn is gone, but yesterday at 1am I woke up sick again, lasted till 11am. By then I was exhausted. I am hoping the pills need a little longer to work their magic. If I'm going to be home I'd like to at least enjoy it instead of praying to the porcelain God. I have started a food diary to see if I can find something that is setting it off. Late last night I was well enough to stitch a little on Elora's plastic canvas house. I made the grandfather clock for the hallway. Other than that, nothing was done but sleep.

I was browsing some old bookmarks earlier and came across two of my favorite tole painting artists, Karen Wisner and Jamie Mills Price. Made me really want to do some painting again. When Miller Woodcrafts closes their business years ago I stocked up on wood cutouts for projects for both of them and during the move I found them again. I may have to refresh some of my supplies but I want to take up painting again. Of course that'll be after I finish some of these lingering WIPs I have already. I was browsing some of their new project books and already have some in my wishlist for later. I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

Still not done!

That "almost" finished sure is dragging. Lol. Every room except the office/craft/future bedroom are finished. I am half done with that straggler room, at least my art table is all set up. I have been taking a break from working on it as my foot is killing me when I am on it. Just doing the everyday walking of making meals, doing laundry, and general easy housework are causing it to ache, burn and throb. It is as close to feeling like it did the first time I broke it, except this time I haven't done anything it. My next follow up is in November so in the meantime when I am at home I wear the boot. It seems to help some so far.

So while I complain and in general moan about my foot I have been working a little on unfinished items. I crocheted up two dishcloths, trying to finish the spool. I did a few lines on HAED and worked some more on Aidan's blanket. I had negative progress for awhile when I found a mistake a few rows back and ha to take it out. I have hit the growing stage as it is so that is nice. I did realize at one point I added and then removed an extra stitch almost at the beginning but when I put a simple border on it shouldn't be noticeable at all unless you sit and count. So just don't do that ; ) and last night I worked a very little on the plastic canvas Barbie dollhouse I had started for Elora when I was pregnant with her. Here it is so far . I need to glue the corner of couch in place and add the door knobs and Velcro dots to the entertainment enter doors. I have most of the pieces completed for the hallway so I can start constructing that. I have to make a new foundation though. The one I had made got chewed on by the cats and then crushed in the move. That took forever, so I'm not really looking forward to it. I have given up on completing all the stockings I have requests for by this Christmas and I will give them out as I finish them instead of making deadlines. Apparently deadlines and me just don't mix.

I have also become addicted to the tv show Supernatural. My husband has been watching them on Netflix and after seeing him sit every night watching as many as he could till he finished all they had on Netflix I had to check it out myself. I have to say I'm glad I did. I could sit and watch Jensen Ackles all by himself for hours. He's great! Of course seeing his outtakes prior and having made me laugh, he skyrocketed on my tv crush list. He seems like a nice guy. So thank you hubby for getting me addicted, although you may be seeing less of me until I am all caught up : )

All Moved In

Well, today we moved the last of the furniture in. Now everything, except a few small items at my parents, are here and tonight is mine and the kids first night here. My husband has spent a few nights here already waiting for he cable guy or meeting his brother early to get things done. I need only organize my closet and finish going through my crafts and putting up our books. My dad and I got our bookcases up today so I can finally tackle that. Tomorrow I plan to do as little as possible. I'm making Butter Beans and Cornbread for dinner tomorrow night and taking the day off. My foot has been killing me the more I work and do so before I cause a full fracture I think I need to slow down. I got about ten stitches in today on my HAED pattern and it was nice. Tomorrow I will do some type of craft if I can just make up my mind which one to do. I haven't touched anything since last Saturday. I've never gone that long before and my brain is on overload of all things I want to be working on again.

Half way there

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. Yesterday was a very busy day and I am exhausted. We planned to spend all day unpacking and moving the final bits from my parents house into ours, so this weekend we can move our bedroom furniture. Sometime around 2 we got a call asking what we were doing for the fourth. Plans were changed and everyone was coming to our house to grill and watch the fireworks. We have the perfect view from our front yard and the past few years we've had the 4th of July at Ricci and Eric's. I wanted to continue the tradition but I didn't think it would be this soon LOL. We had absolutely no food or drinks besides bottle water. Nothing in the lines of anything that is edible as we haven't gone shopping yet. I was in a panic. After frantically unpacking as much as possible, clearing out the boxes and straightening as much we could everyone arrived. The kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room and kid's room are finished. Fortunately they were prepared for us to have nothing and they brought everything. The food was great! The kids had a blast and their bedroom was a hit. Neither of them wanted to go back to my parents. I hope that feeling lasts. Sitting in the front watching the fireworks, with the kids laying on a blanket in the yard for the perfect view, and our family all around us it finally hit me we are home. It feels right. I was afraid it would feel awkward with Ricci and Eric but they seem truly happy for us, and having their own home built is probably helpful. Now we only have our bedroom, our office/bedroom and my craft/clothes closet to finish. But first I'm taking a nap after work, I need a break : )

Craft clean out part one

Woke up this morning so ill. A stomach bug has been going around our family and I got it again. Bad thing is it made really really late for work. If it wasn't pay week I think I would have called in. After work I was feeling better, still woozy and tired but that wasn't about to stop me from continuing at our new place. So I chose a relatively easy job, craft closet. I have all but one sneaky box unpacked and gone through. I say sneaky because I thought I was all done an was picking up the empty boxes and found a full box under them all. I have 2 boxes of craft books, one box of tole painting wood cutouts and a plastic drawer unit of ceramics in storage still. Those should be easy since my craft table will be temporarily set up in the office and I have a new set of drawers the ceramics and wood will fit into. The kids will share the large bedroom until Aidan hits the age where a separate room is necessary. The office isn't a bedroom as there is no closet in there but I figure we can leave the bookcases up and the desk and put a bed in there for him when he is older and thy can share the walk in closet still. Currently they sleep in bunk beds so sharing a room, I am hoping, will make the transition to a new home easier. I forgot my camera again. I was hoping to get some photos up of progress. I still have a lot of miniature things to go through here but my parents have said it will be fine if I leave that till the house is all settled. Tomorrow I want to tackle the kids' room. Fingers crossed it goes well.

Almost done

Today we moved one of our storage units completely into our new house and about 3/4 of the second one, too. I unpacked so many kitchen boxes and arranged some of the furniture. We're not fully in yet. This week we will be going after work each night and unpacking and doing another clean through of things we don't need. My crafts will take the biggest hit here. The amount of boxes that said crafts was ridiculous. I have a plan of action that I hope works. If it does I will take a final photo to share. I am hoping to work hard so that I can take the 4th off when the office closes. I have to have payroll done by Wednesday evening so I will be working hard to get all the extra work for this payroll done on time. If so, I can spend the 4th unpacking even more.

The House is Ours!!

Met with the landlady last night, did the walk through and gave her the cashier's check for first month rent and deposit. My BIL and SIL were still moving their last bits out yesterday but my BIL said he's help us move all our big stuff in Sunday. I am so excited. Last night I had a hard time falling asleep and then when I did I kept waking up from dreams of moving. The master bedroom has two closets, one small and one walk-in. I've laid claim to the walk-in and my husband told me it can be my craft storage area. If it fits in their I get to keep it ; ) I already have space saving ideas running through my head.

The last week I haven't got a lot accomplished stitch wise. We had my niece and nephew staying with us and also my cousin and aunt from Indiana. It was a full house and very noisy. I never thought that I would ever say having over 900 stitches is a little progress, but there you go. I don't have a picture yet because it's still in black and very dark blue. I was told at the moment it looks like a bit of spilled ink.

Friday after work I stopped off at our local craft shop and stocked up on some more floss using a gift certificate my Uncle gave me. I needed 1 more for Boreas, 3 more for the Fright Night Friends Halloween banner and about 29 for Randy Spangler's Boo!! But now they have been all kitted up. I also scored 36x60" 22ct Hardanger fabric for a real bargain. So I don't have to buy any more for quite some time but I will have a lot to keep my busy for a long time. Now I have many HAED designs waiting to go as well as some small projects to keep me occupied and so many stockings I have neglected badly. They are supposed I be enjoyable and I want to finish but if I am not fully on the mood I will not be happy with the results so I do a little here and there but I'm not forcing it.

Happy Dance!

Sleepy Hollow is all stitched! Two Friday nights ago I was determined to be done with it already. It had been over a year from the time I started and I really wanted to start Moonlit Waters and since I only seem to have the one frame I had to be finished before I could. I made the decision not to add the beads to the border but I will add them to the horseman's vest. It is the only thing left to do before framing. That will be awhile since we have found a place to rent. Money will be tight and we will be on a budget till the end of this year but it will be worth it to have a place of our own again.

It is wonderful the way things work out. The day we decided to look for a rental and see what things cost here, my sister-in-law contacted me to say they would be moving from the house they are renting and the owners had asked if they knew anyone interested. Perfect timing. The sudden expense will be a bit difficult to scrounge together as we had not planned to move so soon but my husband and I feel it is possible if we tighten our belts a bit. I am excited as we should be moved in before my son starts kindergarten and before the holidays. It will be tough as it is on the kids as they have really only been at my parents, due to my foot issues. First it was broken and then they found the tumor. I couldn't drive seeing as it was my right foot, so we had to stay with them for quite some time. My son had already told me he isn't moving till he's 27. I talked to my daughter last night about it and she seemed to be good with it. She did ask my husband that when we move it means she gets a dog,right? LOL too funny.

I started Moonlit Waters and was surprised how fast it is working up. Although at his point I am only using two colors, black and a midnight blue that is almost black. Thank God that I decided to grid. There is no way I would have been able to do this without it. I have had to frog once but fortunately, because of the grid line, I caught it within 10 stitches. What a life saver. Here it is at 63 stitches and again at a little over 600. That is two days of working in it.

Sooo close...yet so far.

The title says it all. Sleepy Hollow is still not finished. I was so sure last night that I would be done today but I didn't account for our AC breaking at midnight. We were finishing the movie Identity Thief (hilarious but very adult) when my husband asked if it was getting hot. Turns out the motor broke. Slept, more like attempted to sleep, but it was 82 in the house. I do not do heat. I prefer winter where you can later your clothes to a comfortable temperature. The company who installed the AC came by and for awhile there we were told it might be broken till Tuesday. I was panicking as it has been getting up to 108 lately. I can deal with that if I have a nice air conditioned place to live. Long story short, (not really possible t this point) the repairman was able to get it running and will be back later with the appropriate motor so as not to void our warranty.

After this morning, combined with not sleeping well last night, I was feeling a bit under the weather. I worked for a bit on Sleepy Hollow but I broke down and had to take a nap while Elora was taking her nap. So here is my progress for the weekend. I was sooo close!